Oiler



J1me 1962 s. J. BILLINGHAM 3,04

OILER Filed Oct. 13, 1960 g a INVEN TOR 5AM d. BlLL/NGHA M E 4 United States Patent OILER Sam J. Billingham, Eau Claire, Mich assignor to Cast Manufacturing Corporation, Benton Harbor, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Oct. 13, 1960, Ser. No. 62,205 9 Claims. (Cl. 18483) This invention relates to fluid pumping devices and more particularly to a positive displacement fluid dispensing device or oiler.

The problem of supplying lubricating fluid to bearing surfaces in exactly desired amounts is one which has been present ever since the wheel was invented. Various devices have been contrived in the past in partially successful attempts to solve this problem.

One of the most commonly used today is the variable orifice type, wherein an oil container possesses a round opening in its bottom surface. The flow of oil through this hole is controlled by a needle valve. Constant pluging problems occur with this type of oiler, however, due

to dirt and other foreign material catching on the valve. Another type of oiler is the positive displacement type as shown for example in Pringle 106,959 (1870). I have found that such a positive displacement oiler can actually be made very dependable by employing some critical structural features in the oiler. Without these features I have found that the dependability is too low for reasons to be explained hereinafter.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide a liquid dispensing device for dispensing exactly predetermined amounts of liquid.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a positive displacement dispensing device which will effectively supply predetermined amounts of liquid efliciently and exactly without any hang-up of the liquid due to surface tension and air-locks. It is a further object to provide a positive displacement oiler which can supply any measured quantity of any particular lubricating fluid or the like from a plurality of sources to a plurality of use chambers at any required rate in many commercial applications. Further, it is an object to provide such a device which can supply the chambers regardless of the absolute pressure of the supply chambers and regardless of the absolute pressure of the use chambers.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a positive displacement lubricating device or i.e. oiler which is simple in construction and operation, efiiciently operable, and free from major defects which could cause failure of any of the devices lubricated.

These and other objects of the present invention will be clear from a purview of the following-specification in view of the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the proportioning device and its driving motor;

FIG. 2 is the cross section IIII showing the interior of the proportioning device;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the face of the stationary housing member;

FIG. 4 is the cross section IV-IV of the stator face depicted in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of the face of the rotating distributing plate or rotor.

The subject fluid dispenser includes a stationary housing member which contains at least one inlet port near the top of the housing, through which inlet liquid passes. The inlet liquid preferably flows through this port into a downwardly slanting passageway where it contacts the face of a rotating dispenser plate. The liquid flows into one or more cavities on this rotor plate which is held into place against the housing by a retaining means, such as a cap and an undulated spring. The cavities which 3,.fl4fl,83 Patented June 26, 1962 "ice ing plate to one of several outlet passageways as deter mined by the radial position of the cavity and outlet. These outlet passageways are preferably slanted downwardly away from the fluid measuring plate and join their Each of these outlet ports is respective outlet ports. vented to the atmosphere near the upper end to prevent hang up of the dispensed fluid and also to'prevent blow back (when utilized as a vacuum pump) of the dispensed fluid due to pressure changes. The cavities on the plate are located at radially desired positions to supply a number of outlets.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 represents the main stationary porting housing or stator plate. Fixedly attached to this stator housing is a retaining cap 14, and unto this cap a synchronous motor 16. This assembly is shown more particularly in FIG. 2 which is a partial cross section showing the interior of the proportioning device. The stator housing 10 has a smooth machined surface 11 on one lateral portion thereof. A distributing rotor or fluid measuring plate 12 is positioned adjacent the face 11 of the housing 10. This rotor is held in contact with the face 11 by means of a retaining cap 14 which is fixedly mounted to the housing as by bolts 18. In order to conserve space and yet to provide a very effective biasing means to hold the rotor in sealing contact withthe housing, an undulated or sinusoidal ring-shaped spring 26 is positioned between the off-set portions 25 of the rotor and 27 of the retaining cap. The synchronous motor 16 is mounted directly onto the retaining cap as shown. It may be a conventional 110 volt, 1 rpm. motor or other equivalent turning device. The rotor plate 12 is driven by the motor 16 by shaft 22 extending into the rotor opening 24. This shaft extends through orifice 20 in retaining cap 14.

An inlet port is provided in the upper region of the housing as at 28. Although only one inlet is depicted in the embodiment shown, more than one could be radially dispensed in a manner similar to the-series of outlets depicted and explained hereinafter. This inlet port 28 communicates with the face of the distributing p'late12 via passageway 30. This passageway is preferably formed on a downwardly slanting angle toward the rotor plate as shown. Several outlet ports, of which three are provided in the given embodiment, are provided at the lower region or portion of the stator housing. These ports 36, 32 and 40 communicate with the face of the rotor via passageways 34, 38 and 42 which are preferably formed at a downwardly extending angle away from the rotor face, and toward the outlet ports. FIG. 4 is a cross section through passageway 38 showing the downwardly slanting configuration leading to outlet port 36. The

remainder of these passageways have a similar configuration. This particular feature is very important to applicants invention as will be explained in detail hereinafter. The rotating distributing plate 12 contains aseries of cavities 45, 46, 47, 48 and 50 as shown more particularly in FIG. 5. These cavities serve as the transporting and measuring means between the inlet and the outlet passageways. In the embodiment shown, three cavities 45, 46 and 47 are on the same radius of curvature while cavity 50 is on a slightly smaller radius of curvature and cavity 48 on an even smaller radius of curvature. Thus, cavities 45, 46 and 47 will communicate with outlet passageway 34 while cavity 50 will communicate with outlet passageway 42, and cavity 48 will communicate with outlet passageway 38. Inlet passageway 30 will communicate with all of the cavities on the plate due to its elongated configuration that extends over the radial length of the cavities. The shape of these cavities is very peculiar and very important in order to produce an operative proportioning device. The peripheral surface 52 of each of these cavities diverges towards the face of the rotating plate 12 on an angle of about away from the normal to the face. Thus the surface diameter of the cavities is larger than the diameter in the body of the rotor. The outlet passageways are made of a diameter to accommodate the enlarged area of these cavities. This divergency is very necessary to overcome air lock due to surface tension of the transported liquid. This angle may be increased and is limited by practical considerations. A slight decrease may also be feasible if the liquid in concern possesses a low surface tension but for normal lubricants 10 is preferred.

Outlet. passageways 32, 36 and 40 can each be provided with a vent 44 to atmosphere as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Within certain aspects of this invention this vent is'an important feature of the applicants invention.

These passageways 44 are particularly advantageous when ports 32, 36 and 40 are under vacuum conditions. Passageways 44, used when ports 32, 36 and 40 are under vacuum, will induce a positive force feed of fluid from ports 34, 33 and 42 out through the passageways connected to ports 32, 36 aud t-0. I

In operation, any desired liquid such as a lubricating fluid may be dispensed in any desired amount to a plurality of outlets from one or more inlets at any rate of speed by this device. For purposes of illustration the device shown in the drawings with one inlet and three outlets will be described. During operation, the motor 16 is actuated to rotate distributing plate '12 via drive shaft 22 which is fixedly mounted onto plate '12 through orifice 24. The desired fluid is allowed to fiow into inlet port 2-8 and thence through passageway 30 against the face of the rotor plate. The fluid first enter cavity" 46 as the device is presently shown in FIG. 2. The amount of fluid in cavity 46 is predetermined by the depth anddiameter of the cavity. As the plate is rotated clockwise, cavity 47 will become aligned with passageway 3i and fill, andthen cavity 50 will do likewise. As the plate 12 is rotated a few more degrees cavity 46 will become I aligned with outlet passageway '34 and will empty therein. Then cavity 48 will fill at passageway 3i and at about the same time, cavity 47 will empty its contents at 34. Next cavity 50 will e'rnpty at outlet 42, and shortly thereafter cavity '48 will empty at outlet 38, thus it is seen that outlet 3 iwill receive. three times as much liquid as either of the other two as presently depicted. Spring 26 retains plate 12 into tight sealing engagement with face 11 of housing 10 during the rotation. When plate 12 rotates in a constant fashion, the cavities will fill with fluid and empty when communicating with the appropriate passageways as determined by their radial location, and will empty throughdownwardly slanting passageways and out the ports. Any number of these cavities may be provided to supply any one of these outlets in desired proportions. Vent 44, when ports 32,

36 and 40 are under vacuum, induces a positive force feed of fluid from ports 34, 38 and 4-2 out through the passageways connected to ports 32, 36 and 40. Thus it prevents fluid from hanging up in the upper or blind portion of the outlet ports.

The peculiar shape of the inlet passageway 30, the outlet passageways 34, 38 and 42 and the divergent shape of the cavities 46, 48 and '50 are important features of the present invention. It has been found that although propontioning devices somewhat similar to applicants have been proposed in the past, these devices have not been acceptable due "to inoperativeness not apparent at first glance. The difiic'ul'ty which arises in such previous devices is the failure of the fluid to pass freely from the inlet passageways into the cavities and thence out to the outlet passageway. The chief difficulty is what I term air-l0ck and results from the inherent surface tension possessed in varying amounts by all liquids. Thus, when the inlet passageway portion 30 is horizontal in configuration instead of slanting downwardly toward the plate 12, the oil or other fluid will largely remain in the passageway and will not replace the air or gas in the plate cavities. The small amount of oil that does flow into the cavities tend to hang-up in the cavities if these cavities are of uniform cross section as taught in the past. The fluid, upon reaching the outlet passageway merely bulges slightly from the cavity to form a convex surface but remains there due to its surface tension. Because of this surface tension air cannot replace the fluid in the cavity and consequently the entire purpose of the device is thwarted.

With applicants device, however, the initial flow into the cavities is effected by the downward slant of passage way 30 which allows the air to be replaced by the lubri cant prevention air-lock. Further, the lubricant flows freely into the cavities due to their unique shape. This shape also allows the oil or other liquid to discharge from the cavities into the outlets. As stated, the divergency is preferably approximately 10 olf normal. The discharged lubricant from 'these cavities then freely flows to the out-let passageways due to the downwardly slanted outlet passageways. Applicant has found that by utilizing these particular unique configurations, a highly successful and dependable operative device results.

Further, applicant has found that by providing vents 44 at the upper or blind portions of the outlet ports positive force feed of the fluid is induced eliminating any tendency of the oil to hang-up in the top of theseports. This allows the discharge of the predetermined amount of liquid instead of less on several passes, followed by a discharge of all of the excess which was hung-up.

It is conceivable that the inlet passageways 39 need not be downwardly slanted where the incoming liquid is under pressurization, or where the inlet passageway is considerably larger in diameter than the cavity to permit easy and rapid filling of the cavity. Also, the preferred downward slant of the outlet passageway could conceivably be replaced by a horizontal one having a consider-ably larger diameter than the cavity and having its lower surface considerably below the cavity to permit ready discharge from the cavity. However, even in these cases, it is very important that the cavities have a divergent shape.

The importance of these changes which applicant has made means the difference between success and failure of the positive displacement proportioni'ng device. Applicant has provided an effective and dependable positive displacement oiler which is capable of proportioning an exact predetermined amount of lubricant from any of several inlet passages to any of several outlet passages without fear of hang-up of the liquid material in any part of the proportioning apparatus.

As stated previously, the number of inlet ports and passageways may be increased as desired by arranging them radially similar to the outlet ports. Also certain inlets can be made to communicate with only certain outlets by determining the radial length and location of the inlet passageways and outlet passageways. The possible variations are many in such an apparatus. It is also possible tosupply more than one liquid to the various ports so that various grades of lubricant, for example, may be fed to different applications without any intermixing of the fluids.

Itis recognized that certain modifications may be made on the device disclosed, depending on the use to which it is put. These are fully intended to be part of the present invention, the scope of this invention to be limited only by the definitions provided in the appended claims, and structures which are equivalent thereto.

l claim:

1. A fluid dispenser comprising the combination of a housing; a rotor having a face held in contact with a vertical face of said housing; at least one inlet passageway in the upper portion of said housing and communicating with said rotor; at least one cavity in the rotor and communicating with said inlet passageway at one position of said rotor, said cavity having an outwardly divergent shape toward the face of said rotor; at least one outlet passageway in the lower portion of said housing and communicating with said rotor cavity at a second position of said rotor; and means for rotating said rotor to transfer liquid from said inlet passageway to said outlet passageway.

2. A fluid dispenser comprising the combination of a housing; a rotor having a face held in contact with a vertical face of said housing; at least one inlet passageway in the upper portion of said housing and communicating with said rotor; at least one cavity in the rotor and communicating with said inlet passageway at one position of said rotor, said cavity having an outwardly divergent shape toward the face of said rotor; at least one outlet passageway in the lower portion of said housing and communicating with said rotor cavity at a secondposition'of said rotor; said outlet passageway when aligned with said cavity, having its lowermost surface area positioned below said cavity whereby fluid may readily flow by gravity out of said cavity downwardly through said outlet passageway; and means for rotating said rotor to transfer liquid from said inlet passageway to said outlet passageway.

3. A fluid dispenser comprising the combination of a housing; a rotor having a face held in contact with a vertical face of said housing; at least one inlet passageway in the upper portion of said housing and communieating with said rotor at least one outlet passageway in the lower portion of said housing and communicating with said rotor; at least one cavity in the rotor and communicating with said inlet passageway at one position of said rotor, said cavity having an outwardly divergent shape toward the face of said housing and communicating with said outlet passageway at a second position of said rotor, said outlet passageway being formed at a downward angle away from said rotor cavity; and means for rotating said rotor to transfer liquid from said inlet passageway to said outlet passageway.

4. A liquid dispensing apparatus having in combination a stationary porting housing; a distributing rotor having a face adjacent said housing; at least one inlet port and connecting passageway in the upper region of said housing and communicating with the face of said rotor at a downwardly disposed angle toward said face; at least one cavitly in the face of said'distributing rotor and communicable with said inlet passageway; at least one outlet passageway and connecting port in the lower region of said housing and also communicable with said cavity; said cavity having a divergent periphery toward the face of said rotor, such divergency being of an angle of at least '10 degrees to the normal to the rotor face.

5. In a positive displacement fluid dispensing device, the combination comprising a stator member; a distributing plate in sealing rotary contact with said stator member; a retaining member and a biasing means adjacent said distributing plate for holding said distributing plate and said stator member in rubbing contact; at least one inlet port and connecting passageway in the upper portion of said stator plate, said passageway communicating with said distributing plate; a plurality of cavities in one surface of said distributing plate and being communicable with said inlet passageway at one position of said distributing plate; an outlet passageway in the lower portion of said stator plate and having a downward slant away from said distributing plate; each of said cavities in said distributing plate possessing a divergent shape toward the surface of said distributing plate, said divergency being of an angle of at least degrees to the normal to said distributing plate surface; and motor means for rotatably driving said distributing plate with respect to said stator member.

6. In a positive displacement lubricant dispensing device for supplying lubricant to a plurality of uses, the

.housing and extending through said lateral portion so as to communicate with the rubbing surface of said distributing rotor, the portion of said passageway communicating with said rotor having an elongated shape in the radial direction with respect to said axis of rotation of said rotor; a plurality of cavities in said distributing rotor at pre-selected radial distances from said axis of rotation; a plurality of outlet passageways downwardly slanting away from said distributing rotor and located at various radial distances with respect to said axis of rotation so as to be communicable with at least one of said cavities in said distributing rotor; said cavities having a divergent cross sectional area-toward the surface of said rotor; and driving means mounted on said axis of rotation of said rotor.

7. A positive displacement lubricant dispensing device having in combination; a stationary porting housing; a distributingrotor located adjacent said housing and in rubbing contact therewith; retaining'means for holding said rotor in sealing engagement with said housing; said retaining means including a biasing means, at least one inlet port and passageway in the upper region of said housing and communicating with said distributing rotor; a plurality of cavities in the rubbing surface of said distributing rotor and extending into the body thereof; an outlet passageway in the lower portion of said housing and communicable with said cavities in said rotor; said outlet passageway slanting downwardly away from said rotor; said cavities in said rotor having a larger diameter at the surface of said rotor than in the body of said rotor; a vent in each of said outlet passageways to prevent hangup of the transferred liquid; and motor means for driving said rotor with respect to said housing.

8. In a positive displacement oiler device the combination comprising a stationary porting housing; a rotary distributing member mounted on an axis of rotation and adjacent to said stationary housing; a retaining means for holding said distributing member in contact with said housing; at least one inlet passageway in the upper region of said housing and having a downward slant toward said distributing member; a plurality of cavities in said distributing member, each being communicable with said inlet passageway at one position of said distributing member; at least one outlet passageway in the lower portion of said housing and communicable with at least one of said plurality of cavities in one position of said distributing member, said outlet passageway having a down ward slant away from said distributing member; each of said cavities having a divergent shape such that the cross-sectional area of the cavity at the surface of said distributing member is larger than the cross-sectional area of said cavity anywhere in the body of said distributing member.

9. A positive displacement fluid dispensing device cornprising the combination of a housing having a flat lateral portion; a rotor member adjacent said lateral portion and in rubbing contact therewith; a retaining member for said rotor adjacent said rotor and attached to said housing so that said rotor is between said housing and said retaining member; a ring-shaped undulated spring positioned between said rotor and said retaining member to hold said rotor against said flat housing portion; at least one inlet passageway in the upper region of said housing and communicating with the face of said rotor at a downwardly disposed angle toward said face; a plurality of outlet passageways in the lower region of said housing communicating with the face of said rotor and at a downwardly disposed angle away from said face; an atmospheric vent in each of said outlet ports; a plurality of cavities in said rotor face, each communicable with at least one of said inlet passageways and with at least bheof said outlet assageways so that each of said cavities may positively displace a predetermined quantity of liquid from an inlet passageway to an outlet passageway, said cavities being divergent in shape toward the face of said rotor at an angle of about 10 degrees oil? said rotor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Hatfield July 6, 1926 7 Jones Jan. 18, 1927 

